The Manga Culture
A manga character is an anime character in a comic book; an anime character is a manga character in TV or movie cartoon
. Basically, aside from where they appear, manga and anime characters are the same. Perhaps the best Western example of the manga-anime character is British singer-actor David Bowie's portrayal of the Goblin King in the 1980's smash hit "Labyrinth." Though everything about manga-anime is Japanese, it is very surprising that the West was able to conceive a character such as the Goblin King in the exact same style of the Japanese pop art before the trend became a hit in the U.S. and Europe.Since time immemorial, the large eyes of the manga character have been its trademark. Any human drawing with such big wondering eyes, approximately as big as two-thirds of the face, will surely be described as manga. This has been the manga trend even in more serious themes, even in adult comic books. There are, however, characters rendered with narrow eyes, like inverted slender trapezoids that get obliquely narrower as they proceed to the sides of the face. The top line of each trapezoidal eye is thicker, indicating the presence of an eyelash. At the latter half of this line, a number of eyelash strands progressively rise, some indeed like claws, and the longest of which end at the farthest top corner of the eye.
It may seem that Japanese cartoon artists devote too much time on their characters' eyes. This may be so for the reason that, traditionally, their culture finds attraction to the large and round eye types. Another thing that the manga-anime culture reveals is the poker face. Culturally, a lavish show of emotion, especially sadness and surprise, is a sign of weakness in personality. This is why heroic characters are almost devoid of the rising eyebrows, and their eyes remain emotionless in situations where the face of its Western counterpart would normally react. Yes there are antics, just like with their Western counterpart, but the manga-anime antics unpredictably emerge in light and amusing scenes even in stories of generally serious themes.
In regards to the nose and the mouth, these features are rendered slender and small respectively. The proportion of the smallness of these parts is not the same as with the Western counterpart. In relation of the size of the eyes, the nose and the mouth are so extravagantly small that as if they are not needed. Any enlargement of these parts will make the character look comical, ridiculous, and un-Japanese.
The David Bowie Goblin King is a very good manga-type character. Narrow the sides of his lips and he will be perfect. He stands still most of the time just like any dignified manga hero or villain. By standing erect, the character suggests mystery and hidden strength, in addition to formality. The Goblin King is ageless, and the way any Japanese pop art character would imply agelessness is to appear young. This is why ninety percent of these figures look young.
The "youth factor" of manga is the reason why there are only a few beefy manga figures. Muscle usually shows experience and expertise. In fighting stories, the hero or the villain is usually slender, but not lanky. This is where we see the principle of martial arts: a lean and trim figure gets underestimated by a large muscular opponent, to the latter's disadvantage. In addition to this, willowy figures are an attraction to this part of the Oriental world. Even graphic porn features slim figures. The female figures so slim, in fact, looking like tall but underage and under-developed children.
by: Brian Jones